Spring Acting Showcase Review

The Authors
Claire Boehm '20, Contributing Writer

Published online
June 28, 2018 4:40pm

On May 22, Episcopal’s Acting 1 and Acting 2 classes performed plays they had each been working on for the duration of the second semester. Acting 1’s performance consisted of six scenes, one opening scene with everyone and one scene for each member of the cast. The show was entitled “13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview” and the setting was unsurprisingly an office during various college interviews. Each cast member played a distinct character for their respective interview which kept the audience engaged. Eli Wilcox finished the show with a bang, portraying a very strange student who knows everything about the college at which he is applying.

Freshman track star Zeddy Williams reflected on his experience performing in the showcase, “I liked how the acting performance gave me an opportunity to explore my talents beyond track, and I believe this is an activity that I would like to turn into a “sport” for me in the near future.” The show consisted of many laughs and whizzed by in as little as 15 minutes. Mr. Patti joyfully reflected on their semester by claiming, “I was proud seeing the Acting 1 students grow as artists as the semester progressed.”

The Acting 2 showcase, in stark contrast with the Acting 1 showcase, was a play constructed from interviews of locals in Newtown, Connecticut following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. There were 5 total cast members, each playing three separate characters. Although the topic surrounding the play was often interpreted as being controversial, the play was surprisingly positive and each character demonstrated their skills by representing each character and their various sentiments. The play lasted a little more than an hour but was permeated with drama and a range of emotions. While many assumed the play would come across as somber and melancholy, it was centered in the idea of community and love.

Acting aficionado Violet Regan spoke about her personal feelings regarding the message of the play, “I think that it was really important to me to perform this show because it shows the process and the healing that happens within towns affected by shootings. It also shows the struggle of understanding that people who do this have other things going on and they are people too. People constantly try to put so much blame on the shooter and the script really touched on the mental health aspect and the personal side of Adam Lanza’s life. I do like the way it ended, even though there were so many things that happened to the town they could still come together and support one another, that was really beautiful.” Congratulations to Mr. Patti and his students on a wonderful semester and plenty of memorization, blocking, character development, interpretation, and more!